Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Must Love Dogs: Duchess Birthday Cupcakes

Must love dogs. It's second nature to me. I'm always that person to ask if I can pet your dog, but I can't help it. I just love dogs. I especially love my dog, Duchess.

Ryan's dog Sydney and I. He actually watches tv. We're best friends.

When we saved Duchess, we thought she was quiet, sweet and innocent. While she is still sweet, we would learn that this dog was by no means innocent. We would eventually realize a much more appropriate name might have been Crazy, Jumper, Seabiscuit or even more accurate, Houdini.

There is one thing we don't have because of Duchess, a lack of stories. She has made us laugh to tears, or cry actual ones. She knows how to open cabinets to get in the garbage, grab bread off the counter and hide it under the couch, and even open latches on doors, especially the front door. Duchess also knows how to warm your feet on cold nights, high-five and prance around the house. She loves getting her ears and butt scratched and snuggling. She will nose her way into the newspaper you are reading so that you know she is there. She loves to stretch out on the bed like she is actually sleeping like a human. Duchess spends most of the day sitting by the front window in our house, making sure that she protects us from anyone passing by. She is a free spirit and I don't doubt in my mind that this dog was a person in a past life.

There is one thing that Duchess loves more than anything in the world, which is to run freely. When she would get out (Duchess actually head-butted through a weak part in the wood fence once), she would run next to a car going 20 mph and beat it. She felt free and she wasn't coming home anytime soon. She even outran a bunch of college soccer players on bikes for over an hour. Duchess would come home, when she wanted to.

Unfortunately, Duchess is now 13 years old (which is very old in dog years) and was diagnosed with cancer this summer. The vet has said that every day is a gift. We spoil Duchess, but really it's just as much as we ever did. Although we know that she LOVES the new canned food diet over the dry kibble.

So we decided Duchess needed a special birthday and we made her doggy cupcakes and sang her happy birthday. We wanted to celebrate the love and joy that this dog continues to give us every single day. The crazy and unpredictable stories that no one will ever really actually believe. Thanks Duchess for teaching me how to be a free spirit and to treat the world like my own backyard.